Australia’s Residential Rental Crisis

The mainstream media has now dubbed the current rental market a ‘crisis’ and there is no question that in 2022 most major markets have rapidly got to this point where there are displaced people in dire situations. But this is nothing we have not expected and forecast since even before COVID-19. We (and others) repeatedly warned publicly that the apartment market (still a large component of the rental market) would be under-supplied and that an expected period of above-inflation rental growth would ensue. But now as this crisis is upon us, we warn that there are no ‘quick fixes’ to a problem that needs bigger policy changes to address rather than just band-aid solutions.